China moves to provide high-quality childcare services

BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- China has taken a series of measures ranging from increasing fiscal input to refining standards to improve its childcare services, shifting the focus from simply "being available" to "being of high quality."

Currently, the country has 126,000 childcare service institutions, providing a total of 6.66 million childcare spots. The average price for full-day childcare nationwide has dropped by 29 percent, effectively reducing the financial burden on families.

As childcare services are increasingly available and affordable, new measures have been taken across China to improve their quality. Shanghai, a metropolis in east China, for instance, is striving to achieve full coverage of community-based nurseries to facilitate temporary and hourly childcare for families. Meanwhile, Chengdu, the capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province, is working to promote standardized, regulated operations while building its smart childcare brand.

Nine provinces have introduced childcare service subsidy systems, while 1,315 county-level regions have rolled out supportive measures such as subsidies for facility construction and operational funding.

In December 2025, a draft law on childcare services was submitted to a session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the national legislature, for its first reading.

The draft regulation, which establishes rigorous, end-to-end standards across areas including facility licensing, staff management, process monitoring, and emergency response, has comprehensively safeguarded children's safety and thus effectively addressed the concerns of Chinese parents.

According to a document released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, from 2026 to 2030, the country should expand demonstrations and trials for subsidized childcare services, provide support for public-benefit childcare services and integrated nursery and childcare services, and take steps to improve relevant systems.

To further improve its childcare services, China will cultivate more talent in this sector and establish comprehensive supervision mechanisms with cross-departmental coordination, according to the National Health Commission. ■